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A shadow blotted out the faint light from the hallway. Fox held out a T-shirt. “So you don’t have to sleep in your clothes.”
“Thanks.” Here he was, seeing to the details. The shirt was soft and she could already smell the faint scent of him on the fabric.
He shuffled his feet, hooking his hands in his back pockets. “You should let me take the night shift,” he said.
“Absolutely not. You hired me for baby care and I’ll handle it.”
“You just got here,” he protested.
“There’s a first day with every job.” She smiled when he frowned. “You’ll be the first to know if I need a hand.”
He stared at her for a long, tension-fraught moment, as if weighing her sincerity. “I suppose that works.”
She slipped into the bedroom and closed the door before he could find another argument. Tomorrow she’d have her suitcase and the fresh start she’d been after would be completely underway.
Undressing, she pulled the T-shirt on over her head. The hem fell to her knees, but it was the scent of the man, masculine and clean, lingering in the fabric that put a zing in her blood. She nipped that feeling in a hurry. She might have idolized Fox and his successful breeding program, might have fantasized about a relationship with an honorable man like him, but he was her boss now. She couldn’t afford to let her hormones screw up her perfect job.
Oh, that had a nice ring to it. A real job. With pay and benefits and, for the duration of the nanny portion of the program, room and board, too. No more temporary situations that meant relocating in three to six months. She would give him two years, minimum. Take a break from the constant search for the next post.
Slipping into bed, Kelsey sighed with contentment. This might well be her best night ever. Definitely her best night in recent months.
She was well and truly safe. The Crooked C ranch had clear boundaries and if a couple of her brothers, strangers in this area, showed up asking questions, they’d be noticed and reported. Wouldn’t that be fabulous?
Tonight was better than her first night in the college dorm. Back then, thanks to keycards and security officers, she’d known her brothers couldn’t come in and make a scene or drag her back home. Walking through the campus had felt less secure, but daylight and crowds of people had been her buffer.
They’d tried to isolate her more than once during her college years. Only her quick thinking, her reputation and the self-defense classes she chose enabled her to follow her dreams. Lying here now, she realized every restless night, every uncertainty had been worth it.
She curled to her side. Still free. And staying that way. Smiling, she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep before the baby woke up again.
Fox heard the baby crying and rolled out of bed, more awake than asleep. He padded over to where the makeshift crib had been under his window. The baby wasn’t there. That’s right, he had help now. He had a nanny.
So why was the baby still crying?
He padded out of his room, following the hiccupping cries, the hardwood floors cool under his bare feet. The bathroom light was on and the guest room door was open. In the dim light he found Kelsey on the floor, singing a lullaby as she changed the baby’s diaper.
The words slowly filtered through his sleep-hazed brain and he recognized an old church hymn.
She had a sweet voice, even at a whisper. He didn’t want to scare her, but he didn’t want to interrupt, either. He leaned against the doorjamb and listened.
The baby was running out of steam and Kelsey cuddled him close as she rolled to her feet. Tucking the pacifier into his mouth, she swayed side to side, keeping his face out of the light as she sang another verse.
He could watch her for hours. Days maybe. Time slowed down, and Fox savored every precious moment until she had the baby nestled into the bed once more.
She came toward the door, and Fox stepped out of her way. She wore the T-shirt he’d loaned her over the jeans she’d arrived in. The fabric was thin enough that he could see she hadn’t put on her bra, and he averted his gaze. She was his employee twice over and being half-asleep wasn’t an excuse to ogle her.
He was suddenly aware he didn’t have anything on but an old pair of flannel pants.
“Sorry we woke you,” she whispered.
His body was more than willing to have her wake him anytime. He ignored the flash of heat. Employee. It became a chant in his head. “You look different.”
She twirled her finger in the air as if turning him around. “Go back to sleep before you can’t.”
It was her hair. Her hair was down and flowing loose around her shoulders in glossy strawberry-blond waves. “You’re good with him.”
She smiled, then pressed her finger to her lips in a sign for silence. “Sleep now, employee evaluation in the morning.”
She turned out the bathroom light and disappeared into the darkness of what would be her bedroom while the baby was here.
Leaving Fox alone in the dark hallway. If he went back to bed, he’d dream of her, assuming he could get back to sleep at all. If he dreamed of her, it would be even more awkward between them in the morning.
He returned to his room, grabbed his reading glasses and the latest veterinary science magazine.
Chapter 3 (#uf1da3bab-29d4-5b47-a4ce-dff903f1b7c4)
A few hours later, Kelsey heard Fox leave to tend the horses and dozed off until the baby started stirring. If Fox meant to take care of the infant for some time, a baby monitor would be a good investment. It wasn’t exactly her business, but DNA tests took time. Unless someone claimed the baby right away, he needed some proper baby gear just to make things run smoothly.
She rolled out of bed and pulled on her jeans. Today, once the baby was settled, she’d get to see the Colton breeding operation live and in person. Grabbing her bra, she darted down the hall to the bathroom, taking a few minutes for herself before the baby got wound up.
Perfect timing as Baby John was testing out sounds and degrees of fussiness when she returned to the bedroom. The moment he saw her he grinned, kicking his feet. He was such a cute little guy, all smiles in the morning, though he was surely hungry and in need of a clean diaper.
When he was all set, she carried him out to the kitchen and saw a note from Fox. Morning chores. Back soon. Bottle ready in the fridge.
“Well, isn’t your temporary daddy the best ever?” she cooed to the baby. When the bottle was warmed up, she found a spot in the family room to feed Baby John.
Fox walked back in just as the infant finished eating. “Perfect timing,” she said to the baby, making him giggle.
“You two are up early,” Fox said.
“It’s a baby thing,” she said. “You understand.”
“I do, actually. Baby horses and baby people keep crazy hours.” He walked over and the tyke reached for him. Fox tickled his tummy and they both grinned. “I was going to start on breakfast,” he said, his gaze still on the baby.
The man was charmed whether or not he’d admit it. “I can make breakfast,” she offered. “You fixed dinner last night.”
“Nah, let me. It serves as a nice mental transition from chores to office work.”
With a thousand questions about the horses circling in her head, she let him go. She could ask about horses at the barn or the office. Right now, she needed to broach the subject that the baby needed some additional supplies if they were going to make this arrangement work.
“Did you get coffee?” he asked.
“Not yet,” she replied. Holding Baby John to her shoulder, she went to the coffeepot to pour.
Again Fox had anticipated and poured her a cup. “Cream or sugar?”
“First cup of the day is always black,” she said.
“The better to kick it into high gear?”
“Absolutely.” She sat down at the island and situated the baby so he could slap the countertop, her coffee cup well out of danger. “Bliss,” she said when she got the first sip in.
“Did he keep you up all night?”
“Just that one time.” She breathed in that sweet baby smell, the better to get her mind off Fox, shirtless. He hadn’t earned those lean, ropy muscles sitting behind a desk. “I think he’ll adapt to your schedule easily. He’s a good sleeper.”
Fox put sausage patties into a hot pan and while they sizzled and snapped, he cracked eggs into a bowl. “Do you have food allergies or anything you can’t stand to eat?”
“No allergies, and I’ll eat whatever you set in front of me.” Growing up being picky meant going hungry. Her mother hadn’t entertained complaints at the dinner table. She caught the baby’s tiny hands in one of hers and took another gulp of coffee. “Have you given any thought to baby gear?”
Fox looked to the other end of the counter, then back to her. “What do we need beyond formula and diapers?”
“Clothing?” She arched a brow. “Maybe a seat to make feeding him easier. The car seat is okay, but he’ll start on cereal soon and an easy-to-clean seat that stayed here would be ideal.”
For several long minutes, Fox worked on their breakfast without saying a word. He set a plate of fried eggs, toast and sausage in front of her along with a fork and napkin. She just managed to turn the baby aside before he caught the lip of the plate.
“An easy-to-clean seat?” he asked. “You mean a high chair?”
She caught the distaste in his voice as he glared at the open end of the island. Her stomach rumbling, Kelsey got up and spread out a blanket on the floor and put Baby John down to play so she could eat while the food was hot.
“He’s temporary,” Fox stated in a clipped tone. “If you think we need a high chair, I’ll call my sister and borrow hers.”
“How old is your niece?” Kelsey asked.
“Two.”
She doubted his sister was ready to part with the high chair, but maybe she had other items they could borrow. “I understand,” she replied. “We don’t need a big bulky high chair with all the bells and whistles, but a few items would streamline his care, especially when I’m putting in hours at the office.”
He frowned at his plate and sliced off a bite of sausage with a bit more force than necessary. “What items are you thinking of?”
“A portable crib could help,” she began. “And a bathtub. The diapers and formula of course. He needs a bowl and a spoon.” She stopped talking when he stopped eating.
“Make a list,” he said. “We’ll go into town after I show you around the office and barns.”
She wolfed down a few bites of her breakfast and insisted on handling the dishes, taking care of the chore in record time. When she had the list in her phone and her shoes on, Fox picked up her coat and the baby’s quilted jumper.
“Do we need the seat?” he asked.
“I can manage him.” She was much stronger than she looked thanks to years of yoga and martial arts training.
They headed downstairs and straight into the office space. With the lights on, the etched glass popped even more than it had last night. The space was a bigger footprint than his home and it made her smile. He invested according to what mattered most. She respected that.
There was plenty of room here for both of them to work and ample floor space for a portable crib or a blanket for the baby. The space he’d turned into a lab was really designed for one person at a time, but it was hard to complain about that. “It’s amazing.”
It was immediately clear where he worked, the papers and notes sorted into piles across the wide desktop, surrounding a laptop waiting to come to life. She imagined him right there, reading through lab results or journals on horse health advancements.
The baby seemed as curious as she did, taking it all in with wide blue eyes. Having nothing to go on but appearance, she couldn’t match the child’s features to Fox’s.
Fox walked over and used a remote to turn on a wall-mounted monitor. The grainy security-type video showed the interior of the barn and horses in their stalls. Another camera gave her a view of horses in the closest paddock.
“What a great idea.” She could hardly wait to get out there and see it all.
“Helps primarily during foaling,” Fox said.
“I’m sure it does.” He’d be able to see which mares were getting restless as labor started.
Fox led her out of the office and once she’d put on her coat she zipped the baby into the quilted jumper, pulling the hood over his little head. “Have you introduced him to the horses yet?”
“No.”
She trailed behind him out onto the porch, waiting impatiently as he locked the door. They followed the drive she’d walked up yesterday to a track that led to the closest barn. Adjusting the baby in her arms, she asked questions about the number of mares in foal and what sort of work she’d be doing, other than seeing to the baby.
“Let me take him.” Fox plucked him out of her arms without breaking stride before she could argue.
She didn’t want to argue. She wanted to skip or run or just hug herself. Hug him. The sun was shining over a crisp autumn day and the horses in the paddock were in perfect health. A bay mare trotted toward them, clearly in love with Fox. She had a scar along her flank, but she moved with grace and pride.
“This is Mags,” Fox said. “Short for Magnificent. She was a rescue. Past her breeding age, but she’s a good influence on the herd and she’s always up for a trail ride.”
Mags let Kelsey stroke her nose and neck, arching into the touch. She sniffed and blew at Kelsey’s bun and sent the baby a curious glance when he gurgled.
Fox pointed out the other mares in the paddock that had been successfully bred. “These are due for pregnancy verification this week.”
“I can do that,” she volunteered. Hope fizzled when he shook his head.
“You’ll get your chance, I promise.” He smiled as they walked toward the barn. “Just take some time to settle in. We have months left before foaling and I have calls coming in each week for consultations.”
Mentally, she did a fist pump. This was exactly where she needed to be. The baby should have been getting sleepy by now, but he was wide-awake and taking it all in. “He loves making friends,” she observed.
“Is that a good thing?”
“It certainly isn’t a bad thing,” she replied.
The barn, in golden oak and dark brown trim, was framed by the beautiful backdrop of the ranch landscape. This might be the finest barn she’d seen. The sweet scent of hay teased her nose as she walked along with Fox through a wide center aisle flanked by roomy stalls on both sides. Long faces leaned out here and there, eager for Fox’s greeting. The building and paddock were as thoughtfully designed as everything else he had shown her so far.
“You know how to plan.”
“Better to do things right,” he replied, smoothing a hand up and down the white star on the long face of a chestnut mare.
“She’s a beauty,” Kelsey said, stepping close enough to slide her hand under the golden mane. “This is the coloring you’re known for.”
“As you know, I’d rather be known for a durable quarter horse, but as my brother Wyatt pointed out more than once, a showstopper is great publicity.”
“From what I’ve heard, you’ve accomplished both.”
“Is that what brought you?”
She felt his gaze on her and kept hers on the horse. “In part.” She’d lost count of the many things that had brought her here. After her last unhappy encounter with her brothers, she couldn’t even put the list into order of importance. She wanted to learn from Fox and get into the daily and seasonal routines of producing stunning, healthy livestock. She needed to establish a base, some permanence. At thirty she’d grown tired of her nomadic career and home life. “My recent work in labs has shown me how much I like to get my hands dirty.”
Fox laughed and the baby, nearly asleep on his shoulder, gave a start. He fussed a bit so Kelsey moved to take him. “He needs to be changed.” She bounced him gently. “And he’ll probably take a good nap after all this fresh air.”
